Sealed fluid container



May 25, 1954 C. A. FRICK SEALED FLUID CONTAINER Filed Oct. 9, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

Cfies few ,4. f'f'v'c/f y 25, 1954 c. A. FRICK SEALED FLUID CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 9, i950 INVENTOR. Chas/er ,4. 737/ 4 BY I.

After/9g Patented May 25, 1954 OF'FICE' SEALED FLUID CONTAINER Chester A. Frick, Glendale, Calif., assignor to Leo M. Harvey, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application October 9,1950, Serial No. 189,241'-- sive container construction suitable for handling.

various fluids, particularly liquids, so that the contentsof the container are at all times sealed from the. surrounding air and yet can be dispensed when desired by simple manipulation of the structure.

There are various fluids, particularly certain liquids, .which require or are best handled when excluded from content with air, and yet are onlyrequired occasionally, or in small quantities. The handling or packaging of such materials has heretofore presented a rather difficult problem since ordinary or conventional containers, although capable of handling or carrying a suitable supply of liquid, necessarily allow air to contactmaterial when a portion is dispensed.

It is a general object of this invention to pro-- vide a container than can be made in any reasonable. orsuitable size to handle a supply of liquid, and which can, whenever desired, be operated by mere application of external pressure to dispense or discharge the desired quantities of liquid, ranging anywhere from a minute amount to the entire contents of the container.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide a structure of the general character referred to which is free of complex, costly, or intricate-structure andwhich is such that when the container. is empty it can be disposed of withoutsufiering. any appreciable economic loss. It is a further object of the invention to provide a container of the general character re-- ferred to which is such that itsvarious parts can be readily formed of materials that are, in most situations, inert, or which can be sterilized, all with the result that the structure is practical for the handling of a Wide variety of food products, medical preparations, etc.

The container, as provided by the present invention, involves a body which may be bottle-like in form. The body has a part formed, or may be'whollyformed, so that it is flexible and thus subject to being collapsed or flexed by the application of pressure such as may be exerted by the hand of a user. A liquid carrier in the nature of a collapsible or contractible cell is carried within the body and has an outlet duct tubular in form. and engaged through the neck of the body. An extension of the outlet duct is folded back over the exterior of the neck of the body, thus establishing the body and carrier in an assembled "unit that is easily handled and is suitable 2 for receptionof a fluid outlet. that. will be hereinafter described. An. air inlet means is pro-,

vided inconnectionwith thebody, for instance,

when thebody is bottle-like in form this means may include an airinlet port or passage in the cylindrical side wall of the'body, and it is preferred that this port be normallyclosed as bya removableseal. Inpracticetheseal may be a simple sheet or disc of impervious flexible-material applied to the exterior of thebody by means of a pressure adhesive.

The fiuid outlet used in conjunction withthe assembled body .and. carrier involves a flow handling means and Ya mounting means...applying the flow handling means. to the assembled body and carrier. The mounting. means. may include an annular base applied around the neck of the body to which the outlet duct and itsextension have been applied. Assuming the-liquid carrier. to be formed of a soft rubber, or the like, the extension of the outletduct folded backover the 1 neckiormsanefiective seal between the base of themounting and the neck of the body. A

the base andttop and is thus in communication with the interior. of the carrier. The core is a rigid unit snuglyheld in the sleeve, and Where.-. the sleeve is round in cross section the. core is of like shape. The'core. has anannular channel. Q in its exterior. intermediate. its. ends dividing it into inner and. outer .ends, and. a port extends from the channel .to the. outer ..end ..of the core. Theunitformedbythe baseg-top and sleeve is preferably formed of rubber, or the like, so that. when pressureisexerted-upon the contents .of the- 7 carrier .the. sleeve is expanded away from thew.- inner. 'endof the core. -.with the result'that fluid from thecarrier-passes.throughthe channel and... portof the..core to discharge :from the structure.

In .a. pre.-

jects from this flange.

Assuming thecarrierto have liquid therein... and the sealing cap .to be severedor opened, and theseal removed from theiair inletiof the body, a user to obtain liquid covers the air inlet as by applying a finger over it, and then applies pressure to the exterior of the body to collapse it to some extent and enough to compress any air between the carrier and body in a manner to force liquid out of the structure in the manner above described.

The various objects and features of my invention will be fully understood from the following detailed description of typical preferred forms of apparatus embodying my invention, throughout which description reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an embodiment of the invention with a dust cap shown thereon and in section. Fig. 2 is a view of the structure with the dust cap removed and showing the structure in use or in the course of being manipulated so that fluid is discharged therefrom. Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the structure with the dust cap removed, being a view taken in the direction indicated by line 3-3 on Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the structure shown in Fig. 2, with certain parts shown in detail to illustrate the operation. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed sectional view taken as indicated by line 55 on Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a plan section taken as indicated by line 6-6 on Fig. 5. Figs. '7, 8 and 9 illustrate steps that may be taken in the process of filling the container, Fig. '7 showing the assembled body and carrier, Fig. 8 showing air being introduced to expand the carrier into the body, and Fig. 9 showing liquid being introduced to fill the expanded carrier. Figs. 10 to 13 show an assembled body and carrier with air being exhausted from the body to cause expansion of the carrier into the body. Fig. 11 shows liquid being introduced into the expanded carrier while it is held in the expanded condition. Fig. 12 is a view illustrating the structure shown in Fig. 10 with the neck closed and a seal applied to the air inlet port of the body, following which the neck can be opened leaving the assembled body and carrier to be handled as shown in Fig. 13 where liquid is being introduced into it, and Figs. 14 and 15 illustrate the manipulation of the fluid outlet construction so that air is exhausted from the liquid within the carrier.

The structure as provided by the present invention and as fully shown on sheet I of the drawings includes, generally, a body A, a liquid carrier B, ,air inlet means C for the body and a fluid outlet D carried by or combined with the assembled carrier and body.

The body A may, in practice, vary widely in form and capacity, it being essentially a caselike structure or element with at least a portion thereof flexible so that it can be deflected or pressed inwardly in a manner to create pressure within the body. In the simple form of the invention illustrated in th drawings the body is in the mouth of a case having a neck, and it is essentially bottle-like in form. The particular body shown in the drawings has a cylindrical side wall ill, a bottom II, a top l2 and a neck [3. In practice it is generally preferred that the body be formed entirely as one integral or continuous unit, in which case a material is employed which affords the desired flexibility to at least a part of the body. In a typical case the entire side wall, bottom and top assembly may be of substantially uniform wall thickness and all such as to be readily flexed by the application of pressure such as can be exerted by the hand of a user, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

The present invention contemplates formation of the body of various materials or compositions and for purpose of example I will refer to formation of the body entirely of a rubber or rubber-like composition, or of a so-called plastic such as may be suitably molded or otherwise formed into a shape such as I have illustrated in the drawings. An advantage of employing one of the numerous so-called plastics in the formation of the body A is that such materials are reasonably inexpensive, reasonably permanent and strong, and may, if desired, be obtained in transparent or translucent form that may be desirable in connection with certain uses to which the present structure is put.

The carrier B is in the nature of a flexible cell and is such that it can fully occupy the interior of the body A or be reduced in size or collapsed to occur within the body A and be wholly empty. In a typical form of the invention the carrier is formed of rubber, or the like, in which case it is subject to being both expanded and collapsed and may be formed so that it initially tends to occur in the body A substantially as shown in Fig. '7 of the drawings. By employing a carrier of suitable material and of suitable wall thickness, liquid can be filled into it until it completely occupies the interior of the body and it can be contracted or collapsed so that all liquid is extruded from it. It is to be recognized that in practice the composition or material employed in the carrier may be varied, depending upon the material to be handled by the structure. However, in most instances rubber or rubberlike material, either natural rubber, synthetic rubber, or compositions of such materials, when properly selected, answer most purposes.

The carrier in the case illustrated in the drawings has an elongate tubular main portion 20 closed at its lower end by a wall 2| and having an upper end portion 22 in the nature of an outlet duct which fits into and extends through the neck l3 of body A. The outlet duct of the carrier has an extension 23 folded back over the exterior of the neck l3 so that the outlet duct and its extension, in effect, completely encase or surround the neck l3 of the body. It will be apparent that the parts just described can be proportioned so that tight sealing engagement occurs between them and, if desired, suitable sealing agents may be introduced between the engaged parts, or if the material of the body and that of the carrier are both thermo-plastics these parts can be integrally joined together by the application of heat.

The air inlet means C, as provided by the present invention, may, as is shown throughout the drawings, involve merely a simple air inlet port or passage 39 suitably located in the body A. In the case illustrated the body has a limited boss 3! formed on its side wall iii and the air inlet port 3&1 is formed in or through the boss. It is preferred that the means C include a seal so that the port 3!! can, when desired, be closed, and possibly sealed against the passage of air either into or out of the body. In the preferred form of the invention a seal 35 is applied to the exterior of the body to cover the port 30 and in a typical case the seal 35 may be a sheet of impervious material, preferably a flexible sheet, and it may be held in place as, for instance, over the boss 3|, by means of a pressure adhesive.

The fluid outlet D is applied to the assembled body and carrier and serves as a structure for passing fluid out of the carrier. The fluid outaev-egecc let involves, generally, a fluid handling-*- means and a mounting" for the "fluid handling-means.

The'mountingfforthe fluid handling-means in the case illustrated "involves-a base 40 applied to the neck of the-body-and-a top ii carried by the base. The'base ie is shown as a tubular 'eiement'engaged 'over the-neckof the body A to completely surround the "neck with the extension 23 of the carrier'held between the base and" the neck. iT'he top ii, which may beafiat-disc like-part. carried onior integrally joined =with''- the upper end of the base, preferably seats against theassembled carrier andbody so that theen tension of the .outlet duct 22 engaged aroundthe endor" the. neck formsa seal between the'top' and the neck is. It is to be understoodthatif desired, the. topor the base, or both; can be-- the invention the sleeve 56 is expansible' it is integrally joined with the top ll which, in turn, is integrally formed with the base iii, making these several" parts one integral unit of rubher, or the like. In the particular case illustratedthe sieeve 59 is roundin cross-sectional configuration,v being, in effect, tubular, and the core .5! is of corresponding cross-sectional configuration the sleeve. An external annular channel 52 is such as to be snugly held. in

provided in the core intermediate itsends dividingr'the core into inner and outer end portions and 56, respectively. A suitable'port or systemof .ports 52- extends from the-channel 52 to the extremeupper end 58 of the'core. W1th the. construction just described andwhich is well illustrated in 3 of the drawings, the lower end-o1" the sleeve is in open communication with the ca rier located within. the body and whenpressure, applied to liquid in the carrier the sleeve 55 expands away from the inner endportion of the core so that the liquid passes out through the port 5% in the manner illustrated in 4 of the drawings.

It is preferred, in practice, to anchor the core to the sleeve so these parts remain properly positioned relative to each other and it is desirable to provide the structure with a seal 58. In the case illustrated a flange 5i projects inwardly fr the outer end of the sleeve 553 and enters a groove 62 in the exterior of an end extension 53 of the core.

The seal Si) is preferably a closed cap carried by and projecting up from the flange (ii. The cap projects above and beyond the terminal end 58 of the core where the port 5'! opens. It is preferred that the seal or cap 623 be formed of the same material as, and that it be integral with, the sleeve, top and base, in which case it can be readily removed or opened, as by means of a knife or scissors. When the structure is to be used the closed outer end portion of the cap is simply cut away.

As a convenience in handling and as a guard against possible contamination, it is preferred to provide a cup-shaped dust cap it over the upper end portion of the structure in a manner such as is shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

With the structure provided by the present invention -liquid-can be T filled i-nt'o--'-'the carrier in various-ways, Assuming thebody and-car rier to be assembled; as shown in'Fig. -7 of the drawingsand assuming'the carrier to be a unit of rubber, or the lika'ciosed at its lower end'anddepending into thebody from the neck, the-carrier can'be expanded to take on the'size and-- sha'pecf theinter-io-r of the body by introducing air under pressure through the'neck, as shown--- In the particular case--= illustrated a ported cap H is applied to the neck I air is introduced through the port 12 'of 1 in of the drawin sand i cap.

through the po manner illustrated. in Fig; 9.

In the case illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11 the carrier is caused to expand into theinteriorof the body A by-withdrawing air from between the 1 body and carrier sot-hat atmospheric air entering the neck expands the carrier into the body:

A memberto is applied over the airport of thebody and has a port 8i through which air is exhausted-until the carrier is expanded into the.

While the member is held in engagement with the body fiuidmay body, as shown in Fig. 10.

be filled into the body, as shown in Fig. 11.

If it is desired to handle the assembled carrier and body as a bottle,' and without having it engaged by the part so, a closure can be applied to the neck after air is exhausted through part 80 and the seal 35 applied, following which the part fill can-beremoved, as shown'in Fig; 12. The structure is then' such that it can be used or handled as an ordinary bottle and can be filled, as shown in Fig. 13 of the drawings.

Assuming the assembled body and carrier to be this operation performed it is desirable-that the cap (it be held compressedshown in Figyl i. pletely assembled with the combined body and carrier, the cap Bi? is released and the resilience of the material of the cap causes it to return to its normal shape, as shown in Fig. 15, with consequent drawing of air through the core so that all air is exhausted from beneath the core. As this operation is performed the seal 35 may be momentarily released or opened, as indicated in Fig. 15, so that atmospheric pressure is exerted on the exterior of the carrier while this operation occurs. With air thus completely exhausted from beneath the core the material in the carrier is held entirely out of contact with air.

From the foregoing description it will be readily understood how the structure can be used and how any desired amount of the liquid from the carrier can be dispensed with a minimum of efiort and without any resort to complicated manipulation or equipment. Assuming the cap 60 to be opened as by means of a knife or scissors the container can be arranged or disposed as shown in Fig. 2, While it is held in the users hand. The user can place a finger or his thumb over the port 30 in the body and then squeeze the body in a manner to collapse it somewhat. This will exert pressure on the carrier within the body with when the carrier has been expandedinto engagement with the inner wall of the body in thecourseof which expansion air has escaped 3B, the seal 35 can be applied; closing port-'3 and thus establishing the assembied carrier and body in the condition shown in 9, so it can be handled as an ordinary bottle and can befilled as,.for instance, in the or collapsed, as 5 When the fluid outlet is comconsequent discharge of liquid past the core and from the port 51. As soon as the pressure is released from the body the sleeve collapses back into the core and when the finger is removed from the port 30 air fills in between the carrier and the interior of the body making the structure ready for another operation. If the structure is thus operated a quantity of liquid that has been held out of contact with air is dispensed from the device and this will continue to be true until all of the liquid has been displaced from the carrier.

Having described only typical preferred forms of my invention, I do not Wish to be limited or restricted to the specific details herein set forth, but wish to reserve to myself any variations or modifications that may appear to those skilled in the art and fall within the scope of the following claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A container including, a body with a flexible portion and having a neck, a flexible liquid carrier in the body and having an outlet duct sealed with the neck, and a device carried by the neck and passing liquid from the duct, the said device being normally closed against the passage of liquid and being opened to pass liquid by pressure on liquid in the carrier, said device having a mounting applied to the neck and having a sleeve and a core snug in the sleeve, the sleeve being expansible and the core being ported to pass liquid when the sleeve is expanded.

2. A container including, a body with a flexible portion and having a neck, a flexible liquid carrier in the body and having an outlet duct sealed with the neck, and a device carried by the neck and passing liquid from the duct, the said device being normally closed against the passage of liquid and being opened to pass liquid by pressure on liquid in the carrier, said device having a mounting applied to the neck, a sleeve, a ported core snug in the sleeve, the sleeve normally covering the port of the core and being expansible to pass fluid from the carrier, and means for withdrawing air from between the core and the liquid in the carrier.

3. A container including, a body with a flexible portion and having a neck, a flexible liquid carrier in the body and having an outlet duct sealed with the neck, and a device carried by the neck and passing liquid from the duct, the said device being normally closed against the passage of liquid and being opened to pass liquid by pressure on liquid in the carrier, said device having a mounting applied to the neck, an expansible sleeve carried by and projecting from the mounting and in communication with the carrier, a. ported core in the sleeve and normally snugly embraced thereby, and a collapsible sealing cap checking access to the core.

4. A container including, a body with a flexible portion and having a neck, a flexible liquid carrier in the body and having an outlet duct sealed with the neck, and a device carried by the neck and passing liquid from the duct, the said device being normally closed against the passage of liquid and being opened to pass liquid by pressure on liquid in the carrier, said device having a mounting applied to the neck, an expansible sleeve carried by and projecting from the mounting and in communication with the carrier, a ported core in the sleeve and normally snugly embraced thereby, and a collapsible sealing cap checking access to the core, the mounting, sleeve and cap being formed as a unit of rubber-like material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 336,826 Steeneken Feb. 23, 1886 863,260 Butterfield Aug. 13, 1907 1,230,052 Stevenson June 12, 1917 1,452,036 Grarell Apr. 17, 1923 1,751,129 Cocks Mar. 18, 1930 1,859,108 Nadoolman May 17, 1932 1,909,802 Bass May 16, 1933 2,096,347 Harris 1. Oct. 19, 1937 2,177,032 Baumgardner Oct. 24, 1939 2,204,778 Sturm June 18, 1940 2,327,560 Rose Aug. 24, 1943 2,355,073 Hothersall Aug. 8, 1944 2,426,555 Jacobs et al Aug. 26, 1947 2,557,162 Wetzell et a1. June 19, 1951 2,605,022 Nieland July 29, 1952 2,608,320 Harrison, J1 Aug. 26, 1952 2,659,516 Smith Nov. 17, 1953 

